The Four Tempests
p r o l o g u e "And you will divide into five clans, ThunderClan, RiverClan, SkyClan, ShadowClan, and WindClan. You will be warriors, set abide by the Warrior Code!" a dead silver tabby yowled. Her eyes glistened in the misty air. A calico tom, one of the fallen pressed forward, his eyes glazed with worry. "That isn't it, Blazing Star. There once was the four cats here that held up the four winds, North, South, East, and West. But they are fallen, here with us today. The newly built StarClan made a new rule. Every clan would hold the power of the wind, whether if they like it or not. The power can be untouched for a few centuries, but more than those centuries, the clans would fall. "WindClan would not be the leader of the clans, because it is Wind'Clan. Every clan would control a part of the wind. ThunderClan would get the north wind, WindClan get's the east, RiverClan gets the south, SkyClan get's the central wind, ShadowClan get's the west," the dead cat finished. The new clan leaders agreed upon this and they set off. They remembered about this for a few years but the tom's speech faded off in the years and when ThunderClan got it's next leader, the memory was forgotten by all. Centuries pass. The winds managed to hold it's place. But now, more storms appear. The weather seems unstable. And StarClan made it's choice. ---- "Is it wise, Ferretstar to give this honor to such a young cat?" Olivefoot, the former RiverClan deputy, asked Ferretstar, the former WindClan leader. "I mean, he is the right one but give it to him at such a young age…" "Olivefoot, his path was marked out by the stars," Dappledclaw, the former ThunderClan medicine cat replied. "I agree with Dappledclaw, Olivefoot," Ferretstar answered. "I guess I am outvoted," Deerstar of ShadowClan muttered. "Can we go back now? I think Shinefur is waiting for me," Ferretstar said. "Your mate can wait," Olivefoot retorted. "Does all of StarClan agree that we should tell him about it now?" Dappledclaw rose up, her voice rising. "Or does all of StarClan's representatives agree?" Deerstar muttered under his breath. All three paws bursted into the air. "I suppose that means yes. We will visit him tomorrow. He is the chosen one," Dappledclaw yowled. She continued, ''"Four Tempests, Four cats, One of Breeze, One of Flames, One of Earth, One of Lightning, Restoring, the wind." t h e s t o r y Allegiances: ---- Today is my apprenticeship! Today is my apprenticeship! I woke up in the nursery, realizing this was my last day in here. I saw Snakekit and Ivykit already out of the nursery. Rosekit and Petalkit was crushed under their mother, Yellowstripe's fur. They were struggling to get milk. Snowkit was outside too, his mother, Softwing, sleeping soundly. My mother moved to the warriors den now. She says that being in the nursery doesn't fit her. Being a kit is boring. Very. So that is why I want to be an apprentice. Mousepaw and Starlingpaw are apprentices already. They are so lucky. Lucky. So I bounced out of the nursery. I nodded hello to Yellowstripe. "Make sure Snowkit doesn't get into any mischief. He seems like he wants to go farther in annoying cats everyday," Yellowstripe grumbled. She is fairly grumpy but a great mother. "Say hi to Newttail for me." Newttail was her mate. The warm air hit my face. Ivykit was entertaining Snowkit by playing mossball. Snakekit was learning some pretty good battle moves with Mousepaw. "No, you put your paw here. Then, swipe the air," Mousepaw instructed. I saw Starlingpaw next to me, gathering herbs. Being not the best at starting conversations, I stuttered, "H-h-h-hi?" Starlingpaw didn't look up. "Hi, Breezekit. Today is your apprenticeship ceremony, correct?" "Y-y-ye-yeah," I mumbled. "Oh cool. You should always try being a medicine cat, if possible. I mean, StarClan is so awesome! And also looking at all the herbs, seeing how they worked. Comfrey is for…" Starlingpaw blabbered on and on. But I wasn't listening to him. The wind was strangely louder than usual. "Daisy is for old and stiff bones. Oh right! We ran out of some today when I was giving some to Stormclaw. He nearly clawed my face out… uh what, Breezekit? You are looking at me strangely." "Do you hear the loud wind? The thundering wind?" "No. I mean, the weather was rockier than usual, this green leaf." "The wind. Listen." I was positively sure I could hear the wind whistling my name. Breeze… breeze… kit… or I am insane. "It sounds fine. Maybe you are overreacting to your excitement of your ceremony tonight. I will give you some poppy seeds. No, was it yarrow? Or was it lavender?" "No, you don't need to. I am fine. Maybe I am nervous or something," I replied. But I swear by StarClan that the wind was whistling my name. "M'kay." Starlingpaw continued to pick some herbs. "Fox dung! I dropped some comfrey!" I walked away from him, interested in some bickering ahead. "No I want Lizardclaw as my mentor!" Snakekit whined. "Lizardclaw doesn't want you anyways. I want Volestar. He is the leader after all," Ivykit growled. Mousepaw looked interested. "Well I have Willowtail as my mentor. She is nice but I would rather get someone who is a little tougher than her. I mean, I know what the front swipe is!" "Hey," I said. "Hi Breezekit. Who do you want for your mentor?" Mousepaw asked. "I really don't know. Maybe Forestfur," I said, hesitantly. "Oh him? He is-" Mousepaw was cut off by Lizardclaw, who was organizing the patrols. I saw Snowkit glancing our way. "The dawn patrol, consisting of Forestfur, Grayfrost, and Smallpebble already went out. I will lead a hunting patrol; Redfur would lead a border patrol." Lizardclaw nodded towards the senior warrior's way. "Choose your picks, Redfur. I choose Willowtail, Mousepaw, and Pineclaw," Lizardclaw continued. "Well…" Redfur stopped for a second, his mouth filled with a shrew. He swallowed. "Birdcloud and Nightpelt. And Grassblaze." The mates, Birdcloud and Nightpelt nodded. My mother was going on the first patrol ever since she gave birth to me, Snakekit, and Ivykit. Grassblaze was nowhere to be found. I saw Volestar appearing from his den. "Hello, Breezekit. Hi Mousepaw. I think Lizardclaw called you for a patrol," he said coolly. The hunting patrol was about to leave. So was the border patrol. "Oh, and I have one thing to say," Volestar announced as he jumped on the High Tree. "Three kits are ready to become apprentices." I gasped. Is that supposed be me? Birdcloud walked towards me, and frantically started licking my fur. "Are you supposed to a giant burr?" she growled. She then started grooming Snakekit's fur which made him yelp, "Hey!" Ivykit was no better. But Volestar just smiled. "They can come up, Birdcloud. They are fine." Nightpelt was grinning his head off. Yellowstripe was nodding at me, her grumpy expression gone for once. Softwing too. Rosekit and Petalkit was glancing at me at awe. The sound of the wind died in my ears. Volestar smiled at Snakekit. "Clan, this is one of my favorite ceremonies and this shows that ShadowClan would endure forever. Snakekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Snakepaw. Your mentor will Lizardclaw. I hope Lizardclaw will pass down all he knows on to you." He touched noses with Snakepaw. Then he continued, "Lizardclaw, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You had received excellent training from me, and you have shown yourself to be brave and intelligent. You were the former mentor of Grayfrost and she had shaped out well. You will be the mentor of Snakepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." Lizardclaw gasped. I gasped. Snakepaw was receiving a deputy as his mentor? Then I was pushed up on to the tree. Volestar nodded at Snakepaw. Then he faced me. "Breezekit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Breezepaw. Your mentor will be Newttail. I hope Newttail will pass down all he knows on to you." Volestar faced Newttail who was sharing tongues with Yellowstripe. "Newttail, you are ready to take on another apprentice. You had received excellent training from Raggedfoot, and you have shown yourself to be kind and have good stalking skills. You were the former mentor of Forestfur and Smallpebble and they had shaped well. You will be the mentor of Breezepaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to him." I touched noses with Newttail. His nose was wet but comforting. Then, Volestar called upon Ivykit. "Ivykit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Ivypaw. Your mentor will be Grassblaze. I hope Grassblaze will pass down all he knows on to you. Grassblaze just woke up and looked bleary. "Wha?" But Volestar just continued. "Grassblaze, you are ready to take on an apprentice. You had received excellent training from Stormclaw, and you have shown yourself to be honest and selfless. You will be the mentor of Ivypaw, and I expect you to pass on all you know to her." I didn't know what was happening until Rosekit pushed me playfully. "It is your ceremony, Breeze'''paw!" Petalkit looked devastated. 'I thought it was me and you and Snowkit's ceremony." Snakepaw said happily, "And you expected us to be in the nursery forever?" "Snakepaw, since you apparently is my apprentice now, I guess you need to be in this hunting patrol. This was very unexpected," Lizardclaw said, tiredly. I noticed how old he was. His graying fur… I glanced around the clearing. No one was there. Well, there was Rosekit and Petalkit and their mother. But everyone resumed to their normal activities. Where was Newttail? He was here for a second but then was gone. But suddenly my focus changed to the wind. It was louder than normal. It roared in my ears. The trees were swaying. A pine tree snapped, it's limbs falling… The world of terror swooped around me. Trees were falling, the wind was blowing greater than ever. A small faded cat appeared. A brown tabby that I never knew of. "Hello. I was the previous leader of ShadowClan, Deerstar." Deerstar? The name registered in my mind. Once, Raggedfoot told me when Deerstar was leader. A grumpy and sarcastic leader. He didn't look sarcastic to me. "H-hi Deerstar," I stuttered. Stupid me. This cat is a ShadowClan leader! "Hello, Breezepaw. You are chosen. You must save the clans or the forest will fa-" Deerstar was interrupted by a shake. "Earth to Breezepaw! This is your first day of apprenticeship and you are in the middle of nowhere!" I drifted back to the real world. Newttail was standing in front of me. I was on the ground, my paws clenched together. "You looked like you were having a seizure!" I got up on the ground. "Today is your first day. It is time to learn battle training." Battle training? "Why battle training?" But Newttail didn't listen. "Battle training is one of the most important things of life. Killing your enemy. We will go with the basics today but go into very advanced moves later on," Newttail's eyes were sparkling with excitement. Is he mad? "First, place your paw there! Yes there. Only there." Newttail was trying to teach me the front paw swipe. "Bat me. Yes, more and more. It makes me dizzy. Harder!" he barked. He forced my paw to go harder. "Yes. Harder!" I gritted my teeth and claws unsheathed, batted him so hard he became out of balance. Falling. His body fell. "Please don't die…" Newttail immediately jumped up, his claws unsheathed. "Don't ever think your enemy is dead. They might be faking. Lesson over," he growled. "Moss collecting. Last time, Mousepaw got wet moss and Raggedfoot almost sliced her eye out." "Nice to know." "M'kay." ---- I fell into my nest. First time sleeping in the apprentice den. Mousepaw was more excited than ever. "This was so so boring after Grayfrost and Pineclaw left. Of course, back then they were Graypaw and Pinepaw. And my warrior ceremony is so close." I barely nodded. My eyes heaved with exhaustion. After collecting moss, Newttail ordered me to go on a hunting patrol. I caught a mouse on my first day. Pretty awesome, or what? "I got tangled up in ivy," Ivypaw grumbled. "Suites your name well," Snakepaw joked. "Ha ha, for you," Ivypaw said unenthusiastically. Birdcloud came into the doorway of the den. "Time to sleep, Snake, Ivy, and Breeze." "We aren't kits anymore," Ivypaw protested. "You are always kits to me, Ivypaw. Good night." Birdcloud gave a soft lick to Snakepaw's fur. "I should have named you Burrkit when you are little. You look like a giant burr." She walked out with an echo of her voice still left. ---- "Our last meeting was interrupted by your mentor. You did look slightly demented though," Deerstar said dryly. "You will save the clans, or they will fall." The place where we were standing was different than last time. We were in StarClan, or part of it. Stars glittered in Deerstar's fur. It was true. Deerstar was sarcastic. "Four cats will save the clans. One of each clan. You, of course, or from ShadowClan. Lightningpaw or now Lightningstripe by tonight is from RiverClan. Flameheart is from ThunderClan and Earthfall is from WindClan." "What are we supposed to do? Dance around like kits?" I growled. "You said that there was an enemy, greater than before." "Enemy? Oh, you will need to be able to control your power before it gets to you. Fortunately, we have approximately 10 moons before it strikes," Deerstar said. "Don't tell any of them. Not even at the gathering tomorrow, if you are going." "But what is the enemy?" I protested. "The enemy is your power…" ---- My eyes bursted open. Today was gathering day. Gathering day. I needed to at least see these cats. I saw Earthfall once. He was the WindClan deputy and he came over when he needed to talk to Robinfur, the medicine cat. But I have no idea who Flameheart was. Or Lightningstripe. I had a million questions still on the tip of my tongue. What was our power anyways. All I felt like was a clumsy goose. But the wind was roaring in my ears again. But now it whispered, "P-p-o-er…" No… Power! It was saying power. But what was my power? I was a six moon old lousy cat who barely knows how to fight. Or that was what Newttail said. "Hunting patrol!" I heard Lizardclaw's yowl in the air. "Smallpebble, you may lead it." "Redfur, Birdcloud, Newttail and… and… Breezepaw." "Border patrol and I will… murmurmurskdioswjwfj…" I didn't hear anything than that. My first patrol that I was called in! I mean, yesterday's hunting patrol was forced by Newtrail. No one felt like they needed an inexperienced apprentice. I grinned at Mousepaw my biggest smile like an idiot. She was waking up and murmured, "Why are you grinning like an idiot?" ---- "The new apprentices may go to the gathering. Willowtail, Nightpelt, Forestfur, Grayfrost, Grassblaze, and Tabbyfur may come," Volestar announced. I was hoping that I was chosen. Raggedfoot limped out of the elder's den. "Why can't I come?" asked Raggedfoot. "You are getting up in age," Volestar replied. "Nah. I can go," Raggedfoot grumbled. "Well, number one, you are very-" he was cut off my Raggedfoot. "I am your mentor. I say that I can go." And that was the end of the scenario. We prepared to go out of the camp. It was the first time I had ever been out of our territory. "Ivypaw, we are going out of camp!" I whispered. "So what? Volestar probably had been to three trillion of them," Ivypaw retorted. "Nothing special about them." I sulked back to my area, as Robinfur began telling Starlingpaw what they needed for the gathering. Could I keep it a secret from them? I had no idea. The way there was smooth enough. We was caught by some RiverClan cats but they let us through. No one fell into the water. I secretly thought that RiverClan cats were plump like a kittypet and smelled like fish. If I were RiverClan, I would have starved by now. Fish smells bad. But the tree was the most trickiest part of all. It was, one, slippery because of the rain four days ago. It rained hard and almost flooded camp. But two, I never went on a tree. It was slimy and rotten. "Help!" I glanced over the side. Snakepaw clawing the tree, desperately holding for life. I froze. Ivypaw was the first to react. "Go save my brother! He is like… falling!" Lizardclaw froze. Nightpelt reached over to Snakepaw. "Hold on… son." But Snakepaw declined. "I don't want anyone else to die with me. Better let me go." And then he slipped, into the endless waters. ---- I located Earthfall right away. He was sitting with the deputies. We never mentioned the death of Snakepaw. It was too painful for all of us. We almost had to kill Ivypaw to make her shut up. She was tantalized by grief. Flameheart, a beautiful ginger tabby was located between two cats that looked like her brothers, a brown tabby and a russety tabby. Lightningstripe was with a cat that looked affectionately at him. A mate, most likely. I located all the three. I wanted to burst out and tell them that they have a special destiny but Deerstar's warning made me stop. And Snakepaw's death made my throat choke up too, as Flameheart walked towards me. Category:Shooting Midnight's Stories